Copper base alloy



United States Patent 3,067,027 COPPER BASE ALLGY .lohn P. McGowan,Naperviiie, 131., and Owen M. Small, Toledo, (this, assignors toGwens-Illinois Glass (10., a corporation of @hio No Drawing. Filed Oct.6, 1960, Ser. No. 60,801) 4 Claims. (Cl. 75--162) This invention relatesto alloys and more particularly to copper base alloys.

Copper base alloys commercially used today in contact with molten glassfrequently possess properties which are not entirely satisfactory oradequate for such purpose so as to result in partial or completefailure. Accordingly the objects of the present invention are to providean alloy which is characterized by having good thermal conductivity,increased resistance to oxidation by the molten glass, high wearresistance, good machinability, and resistance to attack by sulfur andits compounds which are present in the molten glass.

These and other objects and advantages are attained in accordance withthe present invention with a copper base alloy containing selectedspecified amounts of aluminum and magnesium.

In particular it has been discovered that an alloy having theaforementioned desirable properties can be obtained by an alloycomprising the following metals:

Metal: Percent by weight Aluminum 6-10.

Magnesium 3-7. Copper Balance (8391).

in the above alloy the copper apparently provides the resulting alloywith the desired good thermal conductivity while the aluminum andmagnesium provide increased resistance to oxidation by the hot moltenglass. The last two mentioned metals also impart increased resistance toattack by sulfur and its compounds which are present in the fused glass.In addition the magnesium and aluminum serve as hardening agents therebyincreasing the wear resistance and machinability of the resulting alloy.

it has also been observed that certain modifications can be made in thecomposition of the alloy Without adversely affecting the above desiredproperties. For example, lead up to .25 percent by Weight and iron up to2 percent by weight can be added to the alloy to improve themachinability of the alloy further without detracting from the otherproperties of thermal conductivity and resistance to chemical attack bythe molten glass in contact with the alloy. It is to be understood thatboth the iron and lead can be present at the same time.

Patentability of a copper-magnesium aluminum alloy in general is notalleged by the present invention but rather of such an alloy having thespecific range of metals as disclosed above. Although the alloys of thisinvention have been described as particularly suitable for use incontact with a corrosive fluid such as molten glass, it Will be apparentto those skilled in the art that the alloys of "ice this invention canbe employed with considerable advantage in other applications in whichgood thermal conductivity, high wear resistance, good machinability, andoverall resistance to chemical attack are desired.

While the illustrative embodiments of the invention have been describedhereinbefore with particularity, it will be understood that variousother modifications Will be apparent to and can readily be made by thoseskilled in the art Without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claimsappended hereto be limited to the example and description set forthherein but rather that the claims be construed as encompassing all thefeatures of patentable novelty which reside in the present inventionincluding all features which would be treated as equivalents thereof bythose skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

What is claimed is:

1. An alloy containing about 37 percent by weight of magnesium, 6-10percent by weight aluminum, and the balance copper.

2. An alloy corresponding to the following composition by weight:

Metal: Percent Aluminum 6-10.

Magnesium 3-7.

Lead Up to .25. Copper Balance 3. An alloy corresponding to thefollowing composition by weight:

Metal: Percent Aluminum 6-10.

Magnesium 3-7. Iron-" Up to 2. Copper Balance 4. An alloy correspondingto the following composition by weight:

OTHER REFERENCES Aluminum Bronze, issued by the Copper DevelopmentAssociation, 55 South Audley Street, London 1, pp. 57-60, and p. reliedon.

1. AN ALLOY CONTAINING ABOUT 3-7 PERCENT BY WEIGHT OF MAGNESIUM, 6-10PERCENT BY WEIGHT ALUMINUM, AND THE BALANCE COPPER.